Francine Lelièvre, winner of Tourisme Montréal’s Grand Ulysse Prize

For immediate release

With this honour, Tourisme Montréal acknowledges the important contribution made by Francine Lelièvre, who, in 1992, founded and has since managed the only major archaeology museum in Canada, with a mission to preserve and showcase sites and buildings of great importance that bear witness to the birth of Montréal and its history. Since opening, this unique museum complex has welcomed close to 6 million visitors, and has received 80 awards of excellence, including 14 international distinctions. Pointe-à-Callière’s reputation is such that over 85 international museums—including the Metropolitan Museum, the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, the Vatican Museums, and the Tokyo National Museum—are among its regular partners.

A leading tourist attraction
Located on the birthplace of Montréal, the Museum houses admirable architectural remains, displayed in situ, with full respect for their integrity. A veritable tourist attraction for the City of Montréal and a leading destination in Old Montréal, the Museum has presented fifteen international-calibre exhibitions over the past 20 years—many of which were exclusive presentations or world premieres—, in addition to its archaeological and historical site. Some of these major exhibitions include Archaeology and the Bible – From King David to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Japan, The Etruscans – An Ancient Italian Civilization, Easter Island – An Epic Voyage, and *Varna – World’s First Gold, Ancient Secrets.

Pointe-à-Callière also highlights Montréal history with its multimedia show Yours Truly, Montréal, its permanent exhibitions Where Montréal Was Born and Montréal Love Stories, and such temporary exhibitions as St. Catherine Street Makes the Headlines!, Old Montréal in a New Light, Dreams and Realities Along the Lachine Canal, and Saint-Laurent, Montréal’s “Main.” Under the aegis of Francine Lelièvre, the Museum has presented 22 exhibitions that have furthered awareness of the heritage and history of Montréal and Québec.

In both summer and winter, the Museum also contributes to the city’s vitality, cultural life, and tourism with its “signature” events, The 18th Century Public Market, Port Symphonies, and Pointe-à-Callière's Cultural Feast. The Museum is also known for harmoniously incorporating cutting-edge technology into its presentation of history.

International reach
Through her vision and leadership, Francine Lelièvre heads an institution that contributes to furthering Montréal’s international reach. By partnering with many other museums—including several American institutions, as part of the Rencontre des Amériques program—, through an exchange program and productions with France on the history of early inhabitants of Montréal, and by joining forces with the Musée de la civilisation gallo-romaine in Lyon and the Musée archéologique de Saint-Romain-en-Gal, Francine Lelièvre has made a significant contribution to Montréal’s international renown. She has also successfully held several positions on major international committees, spoken at some fifty international conferences, and published many articles. She was twice the distinguished guest at major conferences of the Musée du Louvre. Francine Lelièvre has received several awards and honours on a number of occasions, recognizing her efforts to create Pointe-à-Callière, her museological vision, her innovation and management, and the excellence of her achievements.

Ms. Lelièvre received the title of Chevalier de l’ordre national du Québec in 2002, and that of Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite de France in 2008. She also received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Université du Québec à Montréal in 2011, and the Lieutenant Governor’s Award in 2012.

The Montréal Archaeology and History Complex: a large-scale project
Pursuing the Museum’s development and mission, Francine Lelièvre is the instigator of the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex project, a large-scale cultural and tourist attraction that will bring together about a dozen major and unique historical sites and buildings that will be preserved and showcased. This heritage site is planned for 2017, to mark the 375th anniversary of Montréal’s birth. The recent opening of the Mariners’ House is the first completed step of this new tourist attraction in the making.

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